Iran Cancels Airport Expansion Deal with French Firm

Iran’s deputy road minister said the country has called off a memorandum with the French company Bouygues for development of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini international airport after the European side failed to meet its commitments.

In an interview with Tasnim on Saturday, Asghar Fakhrie Kashan said the memorandum with France on development of Imam Khomeini airport was canceled three months ago.

It was a memorandum not an agreement, the deputy minister explained, saying the French company was required to take a series of measures and put forward proposals, but failed to do so.

The initial memorandum was extended for three months, but it was ultimately revoked after the French side’s offers were found unacceptable, he added.

The official also dismissed a report by Reuters that the French company has decided to cancel a preliminary deal with Iran, saying without turning into a contract during a fixed period, the memorandum would have been automatically canceled anyway.

On Friday, Reuters quoted a spokesman for French construction group Bouygues as saying that a preliminary deal signed last year to build and run a new terminal at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini international airport has been canceled.

Citing online newspaper La Lettre de l’Expansion, the report said the project was hindered by the French company’s struggle to get financial backing from international banks, which are still wary of US sanctions over their activities in Iran.